Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $101.78.

A number of analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 42.5% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 1,778 shares in the last quarter. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $1,351,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $377,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 266,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,219,000 after purchasing an additional 11,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $93.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $76.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.35. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.